Shared By The Dragon Clan Complete (26 page)

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Two members of the security team were
walking with Horatio up the stairs to Stacey’s apartment. On every floor they
passed they were caught on the camera feed. When they reached Stacey’s floor,
the two guards waited at the stairwell while Horatio approached the room Stacey
occupied. He stood in front of it and knocked. After a minute or so, a female
who wasn’t Stacey, answered the door.

Zane watched
as Horatio pushed his way inside.

The camera
feed was now focused outside the building. At first there was nothing, but then
an object of some kind fell alongside the building, hitting the ground at great
speed.

An object … or
a person.

The video
then showed Horatio leaving the apartment.

Zane turned
away. He didn’t know what to make of what he’d seen. This was obviously an
attempt on Quraal’s behalf to manipulate him. But whether the footage was real
… Zane wasn’t entirely sure…

Quraal stood
from the sofa and moved behind Zane.

Zane could
feel his wretched presence.

“Horatio
wanted Stacey for himself. He must have selected her from somewhere. Then made
a deal with the human leaders to take her from them.”

“Because you
told him to,” Zane snapped. “This was your doppelganger after all, was it not?”

“The true
Horatio Hurux was removed from his chair for entirely different reasons.”

“What? Make
sense, Quraal.”

Zane whirled
round to face him.

Quraal
searched his eyes.

“The
doppelganger was there just not to cause panic amongst the guards. He was only
a temporary replacement until the real Horatio was located.”

“You mean –
you don’t know where he is?”

Quraal shook
his head. “That doesn’t matter. This doppelganger was just behaving without
reason as any doppelganger would. Why would I find it so important to bring
your girl to the island? How is this part of my plan?”

“I don’t
know,” Zane said. “But I don’t trust you.”

“Her own
people sold her out,” Quraal continued, motioning to the screen behind him.
“The footage is real. Since your bride-to-be now bears your offspring, we can
say she is one of us now. Our blood is inside of her. These are no longer her
people. They are traitors.”

Zane lowered
his head.

“If you do
not follow through on your commitment to the clan, your girl will die. That is
your choice Zane. Fight me now, here, and prepare for a suffering more
miserable than death. I will destroy you, destroy the humans and destroy your
girl. As her belly is slit, I will drain the contents and eat what remains of
your unborn children.

“Or you can
join me. And have everything you ever wanted.”

The words
were venom. They made Zane sick to his stomach, but he couldn’t get his hands
round his rage. The Dark Dragon’s voice had gotten inside of him. It was the
only thing that seemed right. The only thing that made sense.

The smile on
Quraal’s lips confirmed what Zane already knew about himself.

He didn’t
trust the Dark Dragon.

But he
trusted the humans even less.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Stacey watched the dark waters below
from her window inside the helicopter. Walter was sitting next to her while
Jasmine and Dennis were somewhere up the front with the other members of the
security team.

“This is very
difficult for me to say, but we, the government, have been using you.”

Stacey turned
her head to face him. “Excuse me?”

“You have
played a significant role in coercing both Quraal and Zane to lead an attack
against the city. This was essential for us to get a UN clearance to start
nuking known dragon communities.”

“What the
fuck?” Stacey exclaimed. “This is a fucking load of –”

“You are
actually very lucky,” Walter said. “There are many people who will lose their
lives tonight as part of our cause. For them, there will be no reward. No
compensation. This is the kind of war we’re dealing with.”

“So you’ve
known the whole time I’m innocent? The government has known –”

“Precisely.
Before our undercover covert, known to you as the Mage, was able to convince
the Dark Dragon to come back here for an attack, we were hoping to have a
registered insemination from dragon to human. We thought perhaps, given the
amount of sex dragons can engage in, that the process would be perhaps over in
a shorter time than it has taken.”

Stacey
blinked. “I’m not following you.”

“You will
receive assistance from us at the time you give birth. We will take the
creature from there so we can monitor and learn from it.”

“You want … to
take my baby?”

“It’s not
your baby,” Walter argued. “It’s a paranormal element owned by the United
States Government. You will be taken care of financially at the end of your
service.”

Stacey
slapped him in the face.

Hard.

“Ms.
Caversham, I am sorry if –”

Stacey
slapped him again.

Walter’s
cheek shook. He adjusted his collar.

“Ms.
Caversham, do you need to be restrained? Sedated perhaps?”

“You’re not
taking him,” Stacey said, crossing her arms. “No one’s taking him or her.”

“If you
cooperate, you will find this goes much easier for you,” Walter said. “Believe
me, I can personally relate to your attachment. However, you have to remember
what the child is. For far too long our country among others, has bowed like
slaves to these half breed monsters and their savage sense of entitlement. What
you are doing for your country will benefit future generations. It is time we
took our planet back.”

“I’m not
talking to you anymore,” Stacey whispered. “So you can save your propaganda for
someone else.”

Walter looked
at her.

Then he
returned to his seating position, unaffected.

Between now
and the time they landed, Stacey realized she’d need to come up with a plan for
escape.

Clearly it
was apparent…

There were
monsters on both sides…

CHAPTER NINE

Everything was going according to
plan. Quraal’s plan.

He looked
down at his prized prodigy in the making, the great Zane Hunter, and let his
fingers sift through the young dragon’s hair. It was all unfolding. Everything
he ever wanted. Zane’s bent knee. His hoarse, broken voice. The poor man would
do anything for that harlot bug of his.

But Quraal
needed Zane.

He always
had. Zane didn’t realize it, but Quraal was nowhere near as powerful as he was
perceived. Yes he had held his ground in battle against Narses and Zane at the
same time, but one thing that had stood out to Quraal, even frightened him, was
how good an opponent the young dragon had been. It had been Narses whom he had
wounded. But Zane he could not hit. The dragon was too fast for him.

Of course,
Quraal was still far superior to Zane, but in the wrong circumstances he knew
Zane could provide him a challenge. Better to have the man under his thumb.
Under his power. Under his control.

Inside
Quraal’s body echoed the incessant screams of laughter from his demons, ghosts
and ghouls. He felt the everlasting presence of a thousand evil spirits
spinning inside of him, cackling with joy. And then in his own mind, dripping
in the darkness, saved the biggest bloodthirsty glee of all.

But Zane knew
no different.

“Rise now, my
brother,” Quraal said softly.

Zane rose.

The dragons
took together in their embrace and held each other tight.

No going back
now. This was a true declaration.

Zane
understood what he needed to understand, and the recipe for disaster was almost
complete.

Quraal looked
him in the eyes and said: “Go now. Go to the Dragon Guards. Tell them it is time
for war. AND THEN LEAD THEM!”

Zane’s head
went back, his eyes strained. “What about you?”

“I will be
right behind you. You will know I am there.”

Zane took a
deep breath.

“Go,” Quraal
commanded.

Zane turned
from him, and marched in the direction of the front door. Once it was open and
closed, Quraal could not contain his wicked grin.

He climbed
the staircase, euphoria heightening the senses of the sprites within.

He went to
the window in the study and watched to see if had been complete.

Zane walking towards
the Dragon Guards. Signaling to them to gather round in a circle before him.

Then it hit
Quraal.

A white hot
flash of panic.

Could it be
that Zane had outsmarted him? Was he now to command his dragons to send this
manor alight, burning Quraal within it?

Would he not
direct the war against the humans, but against Quraal himself?

Quraal
slammed his fist on the table.

He watched
the courtyard so intently, blood ran from his eyes.

“I, Zane
Hunter, am here to lead you!” Zane announced to the Clan.

Hear, hear!

“I, Zane
Hunter, am here to command you!”

Hear, hear!

“This is who
I am! This is who we are! This is our war! Our clan!”

HEAR, HEAR!

“Tonight we
go after blood!”

HEAR, HEAR!

The blood was
running all over Quraal’s face.

“Tonight we
go after…”

Drip…

“After…”

Drip, drip…

“THE
HUMANS!!!” Zane roared.

He morphed
into his dragon form, and sore out into the skies to lead the charge.

Laughing like
a maniac, Quraal jumped out of the window headfirst, shattering the glass, and
shifted into his dark dragon midair.

He flew
behind the clan led by Zane, as the city’s lights hovered on the horizon.

CHAPTER TEN

Walter’s eyes were all over Stacey as
they exited the helicopter. They were on the roof of a secluded research
centre, near to the city but far enough away from it that they wouldn’t be
caught in the dragon clan’s attack. Stacey almost wished she hadn’t been so
visible with her rejection of the government’s cruel plans for her baby. Now
Walter had informed the rest of the team that Stacey couldn’t trusted to be
left by herself.

The Head of
Security approached Stacey, who was standing in front of a couple of the
guards, with Jasmine and Dennis. He took off his hat and sunglasses.

“I apologize
for the roughness you’ve been put through. I understand you’re in particular
objection to the government’s claim over the element inside of you.”

Stacey
nodded.

“What’s he
talking about?” Jasmine asked.

The man waved
her question away. “We can call someone to consult with you on this matter. In
the meantime, I’ll need you to fill out a statement and answer some questions
concerning your operation. Then you’ll be escorted to your homes or a suitable
place of residence. Are we all okay with this?”

Stacey and
Jasmine looked at each other.

“How long
will it take?” Dennis asked.

“We’ve all
had a long night,” the Head of Security replied. “We’ll get it wrapped up as
quickly as we can. Now please, follow Walter inside.”

Walter had
moved over to the roof’s door.

Stacey,
Jasmine and Dennis began heading in his direction.

A few minutes
later they had taken the elevator down a series of floors and they stopped a
couple above the ground floor. The doors opened and a grey haired man in a
white coat was waiting for them.

“Stacey and
Jasmine, you’re to get off here, and follow Dr. Glascow.”

Walter put
his hand on Dennis’s shoulder as he tried to leave with them.

“You stay
here.”

Dennis stared
at them awkwardly as Stacey and Jasmine looked back at the elevator.

The doors
closed and it continued moving down.

Two guards
escorted them as they followed the doctor.

“Excuse me,”
Jasmine said.

“Yes?” Dr.
Glascow replied.

“What’s
happening to my brother? Why is he staying behind with the other guy?”

“His
debriefing will be much quicker to process. You will be required to wait some
time so tests can be preformed.”

They passed
several rooms along the floor that held a variety of patients. As they came to
an empty chamber, and the doctor paused to unlock it, Stacey’s attention was
caught by a patient in the opposite chamber.

He was very
thin, pale, and looking quite ill. He was held down to his bed with metallic
bands.

Stacey turned
away from him, finding his face familiar.

She turned
back and then it hit her.

The patient
was the spitting image of Horatio Hurux.

“Who is
that?” Stacey demanded.

“Please, come
in,” Dr. Glascow said, holding the door for her.

She and
Jasmine entered, only for the doctor to quickly lock it behind them.

“Hey!” Stacey
screamed.

“What the
hell do you think you’re doing?” Jasmine cried, pounding on the door.

The doctor
pressed his face close to the glass.

“You can
leave. But only when the dragons are born.”

Then he
abruptly walked away leaving the girls stunned.

“Do they know
I’m pregnant too?” Jasmine gasped.

“This is
fucked up,” Stacey cried, sliding along the door. “How are we going to get out
of here?”

“There must
be some way,” Jasmine offered.

Stacey
thought about the debilitated dragon king in the room opposite. She could still
see his face through the glass.

“I don’t know
about that,” Stacey said.